B. Who Can Access DEFINE?

Only current full-time or part-time employees whose job responsibilities encompass administrative authority to create or approve financial and human resource transactions will receive access to DEFINE. DEFINE access is by budget group(s) or unit code(s) (encompassing several budget groups).

C. DEFINE Users

There are two types of DEFINE users:

Central Users – An employee whose DEFINE access is associated with performing administrative functions on behalf of the entire university, such as employees within the department of Payroll Services, Accounting Services, etc. receive access to all university unit codes and budget groups. Typically, Central Users are the final approvers of departmental initiated transactions.

Departmental Users can perform specific commands and create/approve electronic documents using funds allocated to the budget group(s) and/or unit(s) to which they have been assigned authority.

D. DEFINE Access Levels

There are three different levels of DEFINE access:

By Unit Code (highest level access): With Unit Code access, a user can access every budget group and all sub-accounts within the designated unit code.

By Budget Group (mid-level access): With Budget Group access, a user will have access to all sub-accounts within the designated budget group(s).

By Account Number (lowest level access): restrict access to individual subaccounts within a budget group. With Account Number access, a user can access only those subaccount numbers within the budget group for which he or she has been approved. It is recommended that this level of access be avoided.

E. Electronic Offices, Desks and Commands

An Electronic Office is a group of unit codes assigned to a single administrator for oversight. Each electronic office is composed of several electronic desks.

EXAMPLE: The UTSA Music Department is an Electronic Office.

An Electronic Desk is used to group individuals together who have the same administrative access to control which accounts are viewable or editable. Each electronic desk is associated with several DEFINE commands.

DEFINE commands are used to access various information within the DEFINE application.

Each DEFINE command available to departmental users contains at least one of the following authorization levels:

NOTE: The Super (S) access level is NOT available for Departmental DEFINE Access.

Authorization levels for DEFINE commands for Central Users are pre-defined by the University Controller based on job function to assure appropriate internal control. Users cannot select the authorization level for a command. For a list of commands and authorization levels, see the Central Processing Areas Users Form and web page.

The completed and approved forms are forwarded to DEFINE Administrative Services for processing via campus mail, fax, or emailed (scanned copy of original for processing).

Once access has been established, a DEFINE ID will be assigned and the employee will be contacted. Activation of DEFINE requires online acknowledgement of acceptance of all terms and conditions of the Acceptable Use Policy.

NOTE:

DEFINE IDs must be assigned to an individual to grant access; however, when logging on to DEFINE, you must use your UT EID and password.

DEFINE IDs are automatically locked after 45 days if the system is not accessed. If an ID is locked, the user will be prevented from logging in. To unlock a user ID, contact DEFINE Administrative Services.

H. Deleting or Making Changes to DEFINE Access

Each department is responsible for requesting DEFINE access changes when an employee's job duties change or when an employee is transferred to another UTSA department.

If a DEFINE user is no longer employed by UTSA, the DEFINE user ID is automatically locked and manually deleted.

If an employee transfers to a different department within UTSA, the DEFINE ID is also deleted.

If DEFINE access is required in the employee's new department, a new Request for DEFINE Departmental Access Form is required. Once the form is received, a new ID and security access is processed. DEFINE access and IDs are associated with a specific department.

I. Password Reset for DEFINE and UT Direct

Employees who have forgotten their password and require an update must contact DEFINE Administrative Services for assistance. Employees will be asked security questions for validation before their password is reset.

J. Commonly Used DEFINE Commands for Departmental Users

The following DEFINE commands are most commonly used by departmental users.

Command

Description

ACM / ANM / ARM

Appointment information – Used to create a new appointment or change an existing one, also used for prior fiscal years. UT Direct HRMS documents are now used for all positions and personnel assignments.

ALM

View a listing of Employee Appointment Information – Used by departments to review employee information such as salary information, job title, percent time working, etc.

BUD

Budget information processed each fiscal year to create the annual budgets for departments and accounts. These commands are available only on UT Direct.

CA3

Used by the Accounting Office to establish each account and all related accounting functions. Used by departments to view all account number information including official account name and budget categories listed for each account.

ETM

Employee Time Management – Used to view and update employee time and leave.

Section III: Add or Delete Authorized Signers: Enter the full name, UT EID, unit code of the individual — including the requestor — to be added or deleted as an Authorized Signer for a unit code.

Section IV – Statement of Account Reconciliation Process: If the requestor is also responsible for completing the monthly Statement of Account (SOA) Reconciliation Process, then enter the applicable unit code(s). NOTE: The requestor will receive an electronic copy of the unit's monthly SOA, in addition to the unit's account administrator.

Section V - DEFINE Desks/Commands: Enter the desk for which the requestor will be granted access or have access removed.

If entering a desk, the requestor will be granted access to, or have access removed from, all commands and access levels that are currently set up on that desk.

If the desk is unknown, you may select the access level for each command.

If the requestor does not require access to a command, select N/A (default option).

Section VI: User Acknowledgement and Administrator Authorization: Enter the appropriate signatures. The approvals must be from the appropriate individuals associated with the account, budget group or unit code requested.

The requestor must sign the completed form.

The Electronic Office Manager/ Unit/Account Administrator or the individual that is higher in the reporting chain for the department must print and sign.

M. Completing the DEFINE Central User Access Form

A DEFINE Central User Access Form is completed to create a new DEFINE user ID, make changes to an existing ID, or delete Central User access. The completed form must be printed and signed by the appropriate stakeholders. Send the completed and signed form to DEFINE Administrative Services via campus mail, fax or email (scanned copy of original). For urgent requests, the form can be faxed to 210-458-7434 and the original should be sent via campus mail.

Date and Type of Request: Enter the current date and choose from the following request types:

New DEFINE User (create a new user ID)

Transfer (delete access from previous department): Used when an existing DEFINE user has transferred to a different department.

Transfer (setup access for new department): Used when an existing DEFINE user has transferred from a different department.

Update existing access: Used to make changes for an existing DEFINE user.

Delete (access no longer needed): Used to delete DEFINE user ID.

User Information Section

The User Information section will display the user's full name and campus telephone extension, UT EID, DEFINE User ID (if applicable), Job Title, and Department Name. The requestor will also need to tell if he or she supervises staff in this section. The section also includes spaces for the requestor's Department Name and Supervisor's Name and his/her campus telephone extension.

A requestor will need to select the processing area for which he or she is requesting access.

Once the processing area is selected, a dropdown section of approved desks are displayed for the appropriate selection. For more information see DEFINE Central Processing Areas.

From the Central Processing Area homepage, select the applicable Processing Area Name. A list of desks associated with the selected Processing Area appears.

Each desk contains multiple DEFINE commands that provide users with different types of access. To view a detailed list of commands and access levels, click on a Desk Name.

The Central Processing Area Owner's name and signature are required for each processing area selected on the DEFINE Central Users Form.

Certification Section

The Certification section houses the User Acknowledgement statement and requires the signature of the requesting university employee. Additionally, this section also requires the acknowledgement and signature of the Assistant Vice President for Financial Affairs and Controller.

DEFINITIONS

An account number is a unique 10-digit number designating chart of account attributes for funding allocated by the university and assigned by the Office of Accounting.

Appointment

An appointment is processed in HRMS to assign an individual to a specific position ID. The appointment contains information on each employee regarding job title, funding source, percent time assigned, period of assignment, annual salary, allocation, encumbrance, and much more data.

Budget Group

A budget group is the first eight (8) digits of an official university account number and contains, fund attributes for financial accounting purposes.

Central Processing Area Owner

The Electronic Office Manager for each Central Processing Area. For a list of central processing area owners, see Central Processing Areas.

Electronic Office Manager (EOM)

The EOM is responsible for the review and approval of everyone assigned responsibilities within the Electronic Office. The Electronic Office Manager has the authority to approve electronic signers for all units within each Electronic Office.

HRMS

Human Management Resource System is a system used to maintain positions and assignments of all employees of the university. There are many functions within HRMS that allow information to be created or modified for both positions and incumbents.

Unit/Account Administrator

The Unit/Account Administrator is an individual with fiscal responsibility and decision-making authority for an account within the DEFINE accounting system. This is typically the department head for non-grant accounts and the principal investigator for grant accounts.

Unit Code

A unit code is a seven-digit number that organizes budget groups together by function for processing purposes and establishes organizational hierarchy for reporting purposes.